SENATOR JOHN FAULKNER
Minister for Defence
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
006/2010
GUIDED MISSILE FRIGATES UPGRADE PROJECT
DELIVERS RESULTS
Minister for Defence, Senator John Faulkner, today announced the Defence Materiel
Organisation (DMO) had received the Chief of Navy’s agreement to take the
upgraded Guided Missile Frigates (FFGs) into a formal program of Naval Operational
Test and Evaluation.
Senator Faulkner made the announcement at the opening of the Pacific 2010
International Maritime Congress in Sydney.
“On the basis of the significant progress that has been achieved, Project SEA1390
Phase 2.1, the FFG Upgrade Project, has now been removed from the list of Projects
of Concern,” Senator Faulkner said.
“This brings the FFG Upgrade contract closer to completion. There is now a defined
pathway to the completion of the Project, with the issues surrounding Project of
Concern classification sufficiently remediated to remove it from the list.
“There is still work to be done to tune and tailor the delivered systems to Navy’s
contemporary requirements. There is also an ever-present need to configure and
augment the systems in ships deploying into operational areas to ensure that they
have the best available capability to meet the threats in those areas.
“We have learned valuable lessons from the FFG Upgrade experience and, despite
its problems, we are delivering a much improved capability,” Senator Faulkner said.
The Navy’s operational testing, evaluation, and tailoring process will support wide
operational employment of these very capable ships.
“The upgraded FFG capability sets an international benchmark for what can be
achieved with this class of ship.
“I congratulate all involved on the outcomes achieved from this very challenging
upgrade project,” Senator Faulkner said.
Media contacts:
Colin Campbell (John Faulkner):
02 6277 7800 or 0407 787 181
Defence Media Liaison:
02 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664
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